Anna Jonesboro Community High School District 81 Board met Oct. 21.
Here is the minutes provided by the board:
The Anna-Jonesboro Community High School held its regular meeting on October 21, 2019. Upon roll call at 6:00 p.m. the following members were present: Dr. Teske, Mr. Osman, Mr. Hughey, Dr. Blakely, Mr. Partridge, Mr. McGrath, and Mrs. Ashby. Also present was Mr. Finders, Superintendent Wright, and Principal Detering.
On motion by Mr. Hughey and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve the Agenda as written. All members present voting yes. Motion carried
On motion by Mr. McGrath and seconded by Mr. Partridge to approve the Consent Agenda which contained the following items: approval of board minutes on 9/16/19; approval of closed session minutes; approval of payment for bills, acceptance of financial reports and approval to publish Annual Statement of Affairs. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
The items of interest from the Student Council were as follows:
We had around 86 floats in the parade. We raised $4,417.55 at the homecoming dance. We have started planning our next project, which is buying Christmas presents for families in need. We have done this for several years and we are excited to be able to do this again. We are also getting people to sign up to give blood at our next blood drive, which is on October 30th. Our next blood drive, after this one will be on February 19th. We also have been talking about ideas for another project similar to our “Dude Be Nice” campaign that we did last year.
The items of interest from the teachers were as follows:
The Art Club Haunted House will be open this weekend--Friday and Saturday from 7 until 10pm, and on Halloween night as well. The students have put a lot of time into building and working at the Anna Arts Center for this event. Take a trip through the giant maze for some spooky fun. The National Honor Society will host their annual Trick or Treat at the high school on October 31st from 6-8pm. Members will pass out candy and collect coats, hats, gloves, and donations for the WIBH New Coat New Hope
Campaign. The school’s website conversion happened over the weekend of October 11. There are still changes being made, but overall, the appearance and ease of use should be better. The students in Mrs. Stevens’s Web Master Class are happy with the new updates and are working diligently to bring our site up-to-date. Mrs. Darmour-Paul presented a session at the October Teacher In-Service day with a Spanish teacher from Carbondale. The presentation was called CI Tricks of the Trade and was a session for World Language teachers. Students in Spanish classes recognized Hispanic Heritage Month by listening to a Song of the Day from a different Spanish speaking country each school day from September 15 - October 15. Ms. Lewis will be taking the seniors in her Civics classes to Springfield Thursday Oct. 25th. The Lincoln museum does not charge the group for tickets. The group will also visit Lincoln’s Tomb. She received a grant from P.A.S.T. to pay for the fuel charges and a local bank will pay for the students’ dinner. Mrs. Walls and Mrs. Miller are almost finished with freshman academy- a four week experience for freshman that supports their transition to high school and highlights the importance of academic success throughout high school. Students utilized our new college and career program, SCOIR to complete a strengths-based assessment that guides them to careers they may be successful at. Ms. Thomas’ English 47 class has finished reading The Way to Rainy Mountain and has completed drafting and revision of their own three-part narratives to imitate N. Scott Momaday’s work. In doing so, they have explored how specific topics appear in the myths/folktales of their own culture, history, and their own personal stories. This week, they are beginning their study of the African novel Things Fall Apart. The AJ Marching Wildcats have had a busy October. On October 5th the band competed in the SIU Music & Motion Contest, earning a Division 1st place and Caption Award for best Drum Major. The band then traveled to Potosi Missouri for the Bi-State Invitational, where the Wildcats earned a 4th place in the Division 3 (bigger) and this past weekend competed in the Rebel Invitational in Park HIlls, Mo - earning a 2nd place in Division 3. The final contest for the Marching Wildcats will be this Saturday, October 26th, when they compete in the Belleville East Invitational. Five members of the AJ Concert Choir have been selected for the Quad State Honor Choir. The choir is comprised of over 200 students from the four surrounding states, selected from 729 audition entries. The group will perform on November 4th at 7pm on the campus of Murray State University, accompanied by the Murray State Orchestra.
Mr. Finders provided a report on Assessments, Advanced Placement (AP) Scores, and Educators Rising.
Superintendent Wright presented his administrative report. It included information on the IASA Conference in Springfield, IL, IASB Resolution Report, ST Network, and Insurance renewal rates. We should receive our first check from the new sales tax on Nov 5th. After speaking with representatives from SCC we no longer have to pay tuition for our students that attend the alternative school at the extension center. He also stated the Mr. McGrath was recognized as a Level 1 Master Board Member at the IASB Meeting.
Mr. Wright presented the Annual Report on the Annual Review of the Emergency Operations Plan.
On motion by Mr. Partridge and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve Tim McGrath as delegate to the IASB Conference. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Dr. Teske and seconded by Mr. Osman to approve the band to go on an overnight trip to Murray State. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
On motion by Mr. Hughey and seconded by Mr. Partridge to hire Rick Kirt as regular bus route driver. On roll call, all members present voting yes. Motion carried.
Under old business, the Board discussed the Five Year Facilities Plan that was presented at the previous meeting.
On motion by Dr. Blakely and seconded by Mr. McGrath to adjourn the Regular Meeting at 7:20 p.m. All members present voting yes. Motion carried.
The next regularly scheduled Meeting is Monday, November 18, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the Superintendent's Office
https://aj81.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/September-2019-Minutes.pdf